#TankaTuesday 24 Seasons Syllabic #Poetry Challenge - #Syllabic #poem #poetrycommunity #seasonalKigo #Kigo #seasons #Seimei #Spring #EkphrasticPoetry #haibun #heartache @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I have been very busy planning my summer trip. My son is graduating from high school in May, and we want to celebrate his acceptance into the college of his dreams. We are a bit behind in the planning because we were waiting to see if he would need to start taking courses in the summer. Luckily, he does not, so now I'm in rush mode to get everything planned.

I've booked us for a ten-day cruise around Italy and Greece. Greece has always been on my bucket list, so I'm excited he chose that itinerary. I've been to Italy, but this cruise is going to places I have yet to see, so I can't wait! Cruise and flight are booked, and I got both with BOGO deals. As a single mom, I'm always looking for budget-friendly opportunities! 😂 

We are now in the process of booking the excursions. Yes, we are behind schedule in doing this, so we are hoping to get it all booked this weekend. Fingers crossed!

For this week's 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, Colleen Chesebro encouraged us to write an Ekphrastic poem based on the picture below. Now, you would think all my excitement about my upcoming cruise would have me writing about beauty and happiness, but when I saw this painting, my eyes were drawn to the bluish gray building in the back. It almost looks like someone is looking out of a darkened house and seeing the beauty outside. So, my mind took me in a completely different direction.

I chose to write a haibun, which is a paragraph of prose with a syllabic poem. They are always titled, and the title should connect with the poem. There are different styles of haibun poems. I chose to write a prose and haiku. The kigo words must be in the haiku part, and I have bolded and italicized them.

(Artist - Kaoru Yamada)

Dreary Disconnections

Today makes a month since you left me alone, shattering my hopes and dreams of a life filled with love and laughter alongside my soulmate. Father Time cares not of my pain or how the loud minutes ticking by on my grandfather clock only remind me of the hollowness in my heart. Its reverberating, rhythmic sound drones on, taunting me with its power to move on without you. Oh, if I could replace that dreadful sound with your voice, I would listen to it forever! My heartache knows no bounds, and no amount of time will heal the hole your absence has created.

Spring flowers in bloom

whispers of long gone laughter

colors hold no joy

Would you like to write a poem for this painting? Join us here.

#TankaTuesday 24 Seasons Syllabic #Poetry Challenge - #Syllabic #poem #poetrycommunity #seasonalKigo #Kigo #seasons #Seimei #Spring #cherryblossoms #fiddleheadferns #twitteringbirds @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I hope you are having a wonderful week. I'm not sure how many of you were able to enjoy the solar eclipse. I was teaching, but I enjoyed seeing the pictures that people posted from different places, especially from people with really fancy cameras. :-)

This week's 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge is the second part of the Seimei season. This week, Colleen Chesebro invited us to write three poems using the following phrases:

first cherry blossoms

fiddlehead ferns

twittering of birds

Now, I'll admit I had no idea what fiddlehead ferns were, so I looked it up. They are the furled fronds of a baby fern, and people eat them! Some people use them to make medicines. Apparently, they taste like asparagus or broccoli. I'm not a fan of asparagus, so I think I'll stay away from this seasonal delicacy.

I chose to write two haiku poems and a tanka. Haiku poems focus on a part of nature and have three lines with a 5-7-5 syllabic pattern. Tanka poems have five lines with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic pattern with the fourth line usually being the pivot line.

(courtesy of @ChiemSeherin on Pixabay)

the coming of Spring

brings the first cherry blossoms

colorful delights

(courtesy of @lotusning2018 on Pixabay)

green fiddlehead ferns

pulled while furled make crunchy meal

life ended too soon

if left alone to flourish

ferns decorate forest floors

(courtesy of @CharlVera on Pixabay)

twittering of birds

sweet, harmonic melodies

nature's alarm clock

Would you like to write your own poems with these phrases? Join us here.

#TankaTuesday 24 Seasons Syllabic #Poetry Challenge - #Syllabic #poem #poetrycommunity #seasonalKigo #Kigo #seasons #cruiselife #Carnivalcruise #Seimei @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I'm back from my Spring Break vacation. It was a wonderful escape from work and stress. My sister and I took my son and niece on a Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Magic to Amber Cove (DR), Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. We slid down water slides, walked around Old San Juan, went on a catamaran and snorkeled, and completed a kayak, hike, and snorkel tour. We had an amazing time. Here are just a few of the pictures.

 

This week's 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge brings in a new season called Seimei, or Clear and Bright. Because it's already Friday, and I still have a busy weekend ahead of me, I decided to write a haiku (three lines with a 5-7-5 syllabic pattern. My kigo phrase is bolded and italicized. 

Spring winds tousle hair

sea's fragrance permeates air

worries disappear

Good luck to those of you participating in NaPoWritMo (National Poetry Writing Month)! One of these years, I'm going to participate. :-)

Would you like to write a poem with us? Join us here.